correspondence by gummyghosting
Entry - More by gummyghosting - IFBD
A comfort letter…
Being kind to oneself is a struggle, especially when things are tough, when you don’t like yourself, when the changes you make in your life/yourself do not pan out the way you want.
Even so, compassion is what makes us heal, what makes us stronger. For without it, we let ourselves be consumed and blinder by pain and self loathing.
The simplicity and writing of the imagery in this entry is quite painful… but so well done.
4 Likes
Infinite Space Battle Simulator by Autumn Chen
Entry - More by Autumn - IFDB
In Space, no one will see you win…
This entry does exactly what the title implies. It is a simulator of battles between spaceships, seemingly infinite… well, unless you fail… which will happen (I have yet to win the game…).
Similar to Rogue-likes, ISBS requires some strategy in the actions you perform. Do you get closer to have a more accurate shot or evade to lower the chance of you getting shot? Do you deploy drones or shoot until you die?
You are also forced to choose which upgrade to prioritise when you do manage to shoot down an enemy, though you are limited…
Aside from the gameplay/mechanic, which is impressive in an of itself, the story hints at something maybe more sinister? You are told this is a simulation, and though you feel(?) pain, you supposedly do not sustain actual damage. Is this part of a larger experiment? What is that experiment for? A training for a future space war?
There is definitely more than the author lets on…
6 Likes
My Tumblr queue is out of whack… posting when it shouldn’t… oh well
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Kyrie Eleison by Lapin Lunaire Games/Jinx
Entry - More by Jinx - @lapinlunaire-games - IFDB
Not so merciful…
… is the “kindness of the vampire”.
Spared from the release of death, a vampire transforms you into her kind, no matter your protest. Forced to live as an undead, forgetting what it meant to be alive, human, despair takes a hold of you. Until you repay your Maker her kindness…
The imagery from the prose is delectable. A succulent and dark short piece.
7 Likes
June 1998, Sydney by Kastel
Entry - More by Kastel - IFDB
The Merging of Different Worlds…
In May of 1998 , riots erupted in Jakarta, resulting in of the diaspora of Chinese Indonesians towards, among others, Australia. This is an important context to understand the situation of the main character and her family.
As the broken family settles in their new home, a strange dynamic forms, leaving the main character in a sort of emotional limbo state, avoiding acts that could tip the balance of this fragile situation the wrong way.
It is heartbreaking.
8 Likes
A boat ride. by Unexpected_Dreams
Entry - More by Unexpected_Dreams - IFDB
Don’t run out of words!
Four candles and a counter. The first disappearing as the second increases. “You don’t have time for this”, the game tells you. Though it is not time, but words that will limit how far you go… This entry took the limited word count rule and flipped it on itself.
The story is funky, as Charon welcomes you to his boat, but not before essentially mugging you of your belonging and stealing your phone (listen, there’s no internet down there, he got to entertain himself somehow). Fun humour!
Still have not found the third ending ;-;
6 Likes
Life of Puck by alyshkalia
Entry - More by alyshkalia - IFDB
The Sweet Life of a Rat
Eat, sleep, drink some water, clean yourself, and look for your human. This is the sweet, sweet, life that Puck, the cute little rat, lives. Though it might feel quickly monotonous - there is only so much a rodent can do - the game invites you to try different combinations of actions to fill in the achievement list. A really cute game indeed!
6 Likes
Office Hours by galacticdemigod
Entry - IFDB
Who says you can’t make friends at work…
In a mix between retrospection and conversation, this entry shows that no matter how dull work can be, a friend can make up for it. Even if you never met face to face. Or their handle changes every day. But nothing matter in this corrupted document shared with that one special person, who you know so much of and yet so little.
I like the eeriness of the setting (what if they are not as friendly? what if you are being tricked) and the writing made me chuckle too. The UI also was spot on!
According to the tags on the game page, this is this creators first game! Very cool!
5 Likes
Dreamscape CYOA by KADW/Cerfeuil
Entry - More by KADW - IFDB
Life is Hard… Take this!
This whimsical entry, filled with dreamy illustrations, awards you three gifts, which you must choose from 11, to lessen the hardship of life. From doors to other worlds, food you can pay with memories, a pool with always the perfect temperature, to a literal slice of paradise, the hardest thing in this entry is both choose… and realise this will never happen in real life.
But one can dream…
This felt like a taste of something much larger… and yet it is just enough.
5 Likes
metastasis by Playahead Games
Entry - More by Playahead Games - IFDB
Shenanigans in the lab
While working on samples, you notice strange things happening around you: misplaced test tubes, foul smell, unusual behaviour… Depending on the choice you’ve made, you may encounter one of four endings, each creepier than the last.
The entry is very atmospheric and the bareness in writing (in work notes) convey a lot more about the setting than it looks.
Really enjoyed this one!
While you can skip the typed text animation, the options are stuck being a timed, making you wait anyway. Changing the timed into a typed would be much nicer for replay value!
4 Likes
Parley! by γεcrimson
Entry - More by γεcrimson - IFDB
How successful will you be?
Unprepared and inexperienced, yet tasked to engage in negotiations with a man who seems to have all and requires little from you.
You will need a few tries to find the right combination of choices to appease the Viper. Some are hidden at first… Choose the wrong one, and die(?). Take too long, and die(?)…
I really liked how the game was constructed. It was fun (in a bit of a stressful way). Though the ending page arrived just a second or two too early…
6 Likes
Frog by MartynJBull
Entry - IFDB
From egg to jumper
This short entry looks at the early stages of the lifecycle of a frog, from the moment they are spawned into the pond, to the day they leave it. You play as one of them, eating, wondering about your state, or wiggling around the muddy waters. As you grow, the season changes, and so are the dangers.
The entry is awfully sweet and delightful.
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NOTE: I’ve actually finished playing all the entries (barred any latecomers before midnight today), and queued all entries on my Reviews Tumblr. I will continue to post them here as they are released. But 
first time I actually finish reviewing all entries of a jam on time!
10 Likes
Weird Texts from an Unknown Number by samplereality
Entry - More by samplereality - IFDB
Never Answer Spam Messages…
This is essentially the moral of this short horror game, as answering the messages will send you into very wild conversations. Depending on your answers, you may find someone accusing you of stalking, someone informing they have kidnapped your brother, someone threatening you to kill you…
This Twine entry uses the Trialogue format to create a branching narrative into an interactive chat story. Also reminded of Please Answer Carefully …
6 Likes
Successor by 30x30
Entry - More by 30x30 - IFDB
A Love Letter to Ecology
With the current ecological state of the world, it is hard not to feel hopeless for future generations. It is also quite normal to turn towards science/speculative-fiction to imagine a world in the far future where Nature has taken a priority, and technology can do wonders to protect it. Like a soothing balm, reminding us that things might work out after all…
This is this kind of hope that this entry is bringing forward.
6 Likes
500 Word Hotel Escape by Kobato Games
Entry - More by Kobato Games - IFDB
Escape Room Hotel…
What’s the worst that could happen when missing your alarm? Here, being locked inside the hotel, after the owner has shut it down for the season. Without a phone to call for help, you are left to your devices to find a way out.
The puzzle is pretty simple (click on the correct links to progress), and quite reminiscent of parsers/text adventures (I would see this one as a pretty cute beginner entry imo).
Nice job!
5 Likes
Eliza’s Unbearable Awkward Reunion! by Lance Cirone
Entry - More by Lance Cirone - IFDB
Second-hand Embarrassment Galore How awkward it is to meet an old acquaintance… worse even when that person is your ex. And even though you “moved on”, it does not make it easier to see her face again. Though you are warned about the unbearable awkwardness this meeting is, it really does not compare to the actual thing…
This made me feel like I was watching one of those pretty bad C-list series where the acting is way too toned down and over the top and the mixing is not quite right, and the writing is just soooo cringe. 10/01 would cringe again,
6 Likes
Writing something that feel rounded and nuanced can be a bit… tricky with only 500 words.
But looking forward to where it goes next 
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angel numbers by Sophia de Augustine
Entry - More by Sophia- IFDB
Unhealthy Fixations and Heavenly Body
As expected from Sophia, themes of religion, celestial bodies, and trauma, will usually have an appearance in her writing. Again with this entry, from the allusion of a “guardian angel” looking over you, or the triple digits as some form of communication between heavenly bodies and humans (notice how 666 is missing…).
This guardian, however, has not the best intention at heart, as the descriptions (told from their perspective) of their actions seem to traumatise you, has they have done your father before, as they will do your daughter in the future. This fixation is hidden behind their love for you, as they had for your father, as they will your daughter…
Or… you could read something completely different…
The final note absolutely KILLED me.
6 Likes